Rice Quality and Yield Threatened by Climate Change: Gene Editing Offers Solution
Climate Change Poses Challenges to Crop Maintenance
Ensuring the quality and yield of crops in the face of rising temperatures caused by climate change is becoming an increasingly difficult task. Rice, in particular, has been found to be vulnerable to high night temperatures during the ripening period, leading to a phenomenon known as “chalkiness.”
Chalkiness is characterized by a reduction in starch concentration, resulting in less compact rice grains. This not only diminishes the milling yield and cooking quality of rice but also lowers its overall market value.
Gene Editing: A Promising Approach to Improve Rice Quality
A breakthrough study by scientists at the University of Arkansas, USA, presents a novel method to address chalkiness caused by heat stress. Published in the recent edition of the ‘Plant Journal,’ the researchers describe their successful efforts in genetically modifying japonica rice varieties grown in Korea, Japan, and Taiwan to reduce chalkiness.
By targeting the gene responsible for the vacuole-translocating pyrophosphatase (V-PPase) enzyme, known to contribute to calcification, the research team employed the genetic scissor editing technique (CRISPR-Cas9) to edit the promoter element controlling V-PPase expression. The result? Rice with significantly reduced chalkiness and increased grain weight. These improvements were maintained even under higher nighttime temperatures, ensuring the production of higher quality rice.
Promising Results and Patent Application
The researchers found that gene-edited rice exhibited a 7 to 15 times decrease in chalkiness, while also significantly increasing grain weight. Dr. Peter James Icalia Gann, the lead author of the paper, along with co-author Prof. Vibha Srivastava, has even filed a provisional patent application for this groundbreaking technique.
Dr. Gann emphasizes the importance of finding solutions to challenges in our food system caused by rising temperatures, stating, “If we want to sustain life on our planet Earth, it is really important to identify solutions to the problems in our food system that arise as the average temperature increases.” He further expresses excitement in sharing their findings on the potential of gene editing in rice to consistently improve quality, even under heat stress.
【NewsQuest=Reporter Kim Hyeong-geun】 Maintaining the quality and yield of crops that have been modified in temperature due to climate change is becoming an increasingly difficult challenge.
One of the crops known to be surprised by high night temperatures during the ripening period is rice. The “chalkiness” resulting from heat stress is a result of such an effect.
Chalky is a phenomenon where rice grains become less compact due to reduced starch concentration, which can reduce milling yield, cooking quality and overall market value.
Rice is one of the crops affected by high temperatures at night during the grain ripening period. This effect is what leads to the “chalkiness” that results from heat stress. Chalk is a less dense grain of rice due to a lower concentration of starch, which can reduce milling yield, cooking quality and market value. [사진=Pexels]
Development of gene editing to improve ‘Chalky’, which has smaller grains
Scientists at the University of Arkansas, USA, presented a method to treat all the genetic calcification caused by heat stress in a paper published in the recent edition of the ‘Plant Journal’.
In this paper, the research team details how they have genetically engineered the varieties of japonica rice currently grown in Korea, Japan and Taiwan to reduce chalkiness.
They claimed that they could use targeted mutagenesis of the H+ vacuole-translocating pyrophosphatase (V-PPase) gene in a sponge-like tissue to reduce calcification in rice.
The research team specifically targeted the gene encoding V-PPase, an enzyme known to play a role in increasing cementum.
They were able to reduce chalk by editing the promoter element that controls V-PPase expression using the genetic scissor editing technique (CRISPR-Cas9).
Rice modified by gene editing reduced limeness by a factor of 7 to 15, depending on the cultivar, and increased grain weight. The results were maintained even with higher temperatures during the night. The grains of starch were more densely packed, showing a clear improvement in the quality of the rice.
Cretaceous matter decreased 7 to 15 times and weight increased significantly
The process turned out to be so new that the first author of the paper, Dr. Peter James Icalia Gann, Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, and co-author Vibha Srivastava, Professor, Department of Crop Soil and Environmental Sciences, granted a provisional patent. request for
“If we want to sustain life on our planet Earth, it is really important to identify solutions to the problems in our food system that arise as the average temperature increases,” emphasized Gan.
“We are very excited to be able to share our findings on the use of gene editing in rice to improve quality that remains consistent even under heat stress.”
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